Garris can't imagine skipping the waffle and ice cream sandwich, so she planned on it.

Freshly puffed waffles count as a bread and butter serving. Neapolitan ice cream melting into the waffle is high fat. After checking the calories — 375 — Garris deemed the treat, "Not that bad."

Beyond snacking, plan your entire meal at the fair. Turkey or chicken barbecue sandwiches are top choices for nutrition. Beef lovers should try the London broil or the black diamond steak sandwich sold by the Kunkletown Fire Department. These are lean options, Garris said. Go without the bread to reduce carbohydrates.

Soup is a light meal, but know that creamy New England clam chowder has more fat than tomato-broth Manhattan.

For a filling meal high in fiber, choose a baked potato topped with chili instead of sour cream.

Tangy, homemade, celery-seed salad dressing is the secret weapon against salad boredom at the Western Pocono Women's Club stand. The club prepares eight gallons of celery-seed dressing for the week at the fair, according to club member Donna Coleman. That's compared to just two gallons of French dressing, At $2, the salad is easy on the budget and the waistline.

Plan good choices for your meal and save room for a snack.

Moderation and adaptations. Cashews, almonds and pecans are healthy choices. All nuts contain good fats and fiber, Garris said. The crunchy sugar coating, however, is not so great.

Garris recommends eating half a bag at the fair and the other half the next day. Pass on the sugar and try smoked barbecue nuts, garlic nuts or trail mix. They're heavy on the salt, but still healthy.

Frozen bananas, grapes, strawberries or pineapple on a stick are excellent nutritionally, but compromised just a bit by a dipping in chocolate or caramel and sprinkles. If you're really being careful, skip the dip.

At the same stand, balls of frozen peanut butter on a stick are also available for chocolate dunking. Garris notes that these are pretty high in fat and sugar. Same deal with the famous cheesecake on at stick. At 500 calories before a chocolate dunking, eat a slice and you are about done for the day, unless you share the portion with a friend. About 220 slices of the decadent cheesecake are sold daily.

Funnel cakes, fried in oil and topped with a cascade of powdered sugar, are a triple threat: carbs, fat and sugar. They are best shared at least three ways, Garris says. Elephant ears are another treat perfect for sharing.

The Pleasant Valley school funnel cake stand sells 1,500 servings on a good day at $4.50 a plate, according to stand volunteer Debbie Butchkeski.

Giant bags of popcorn and kettle corn at Ashley and Dayne's stand all look similar but have a range of nutritional properties in the salty and sugar candy-coated varieties. Garris checks the portion size and finds three servings per bag. Stand operator Dayne Coleman, 13, calls the rainbow mix popcorn — with cherry, grape, chocolate, caramel and blueberry flavors — a best seller.

Walk it off. The beauty of fair food is that it is served in a walking environment. Exercise is important, says Garris, and it is built into the fair experience. If you overdo it, walk it off.